The Most Unexpected Places
by Splattifying Agent 2
Summary: Marie needs some comfort after a bad breakup. Rated M for obvious reasons. My first lemon!
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N] And, I'm back! The last time I published a story here was what, last August? It was when I wrote that Fossil Fighters story, so BOY has it been a while! This is also a time for firsts; not only is this my first Splatoon story, it's also my first lemon. *gulp* So let's just hope it's good.**

 **As I'm sure you can see, I got Splatoon a few weeks ago, and I LOVE IT. You can probably also guess who my favourite Squid Sister is.**

 **Oh, and naturally, for those who care, my Inkling Boy will be aged up for the purposes of this scene.**

 _So, without further ado…_

The Most Unexpected Places

The door was unlocked.

Jake, Marie's best friend, had come to the Squid Sister's house to pick her up for a Splatfest party. But when he knocked, there was no answer. He tried the door, and when it opened, he was surprised.

They NEVER left their door unlocked. Something was wrong.

He walked all throughout the house, afraid of what he might find, but there were no signs of anybody there. This was starting to feel sinister.

As he walked down the last hallway with nary a Squid Sister in sight, he heard an odd sound.

As Jake went to investigate, he realized it was coming from Marie's room. He walked up to the door and eased it open, and there she was.

Marie was sitting on the edge of her bed, in her Inkopolis News dress, with her head in her hands, shaking.

She looked up when Jake came in, and he could see that she was _crying_.

He couldn't believe it. In all the time that he had known her, Jake had _never_ seen Marie cry. She wasn't the emotional type. She was the one who comforted Callie whenever something went wrong; Marie was never the one who _needed_ comforting.

As soon as Jake saw her, he ran over to the bed.

"Marie! Oh my God, this can't be good…"

"J-Jake…"

"Sshh…" he said quietly. "Don't tell me right now. Just let it out."

They stayed like that for a while, with Jake holding her on the bed, and Marie quietly crying. After a while, though, she calmed down, cries slowly becoming shaky breaths.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked. Marie nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"…Yeah," she said. "You know my boyfriend?"

Jake nodded. How could he not?

"Well," Marie said, her voice shaking. "I went to his place today, for a surprise date, and when I went into his room… he wasn't alone…"

Jake was hardly surprised, but tried to look like he was. He hated Marie's boyfriend from the minute he laid eyes on the guy. He was crass, he couldn't keep his hands off of her, that _dick_ , that _bastard_ , he didn't respect her, and it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Jake couldn't be happier now that he was gone. But he could see that this was breaking Marie's heart.

He snapped out of his own thoughts; Marie was crying again. He returned to holding her.

"Marie?"

"Mm?"

"I might be crossing a line here," he said hesitantly. "But… you should be happy."

Marie looked up at him with a mix of emotions; confusion, hurt, a bit of anger. "What are you talking about?"

He took a risk. "That guy was bad news. Like, really bad. He was a jerk."

Marie started to pull back. "What are you talking about?" she repeated.

Jake started to pick up steam. "Think about it. Actually think. The entire time that you were with him, did he ever treat you right? I could see how much you loved him, but did he ever love you back? The only thing that that guy cared about was your body. He was not the right man for you. You deserve a lot better, Marie." He grinned a little.

Marie wanted to slap him. She really did. Jake had no right to tell her who was or wasn't good for her. But when she actually started thinking about it, she knew.

"…You're right," she said quietly.

"I am?"

"…Yeah. You know, I should've realized that a long time ago. I was his bitch. That was it. I should've left him first."

"Well, as long as you're OK."

"I'm feeling better now, Jake. Thanks. You're a really great friend."

There was that word that he hated so much. 'Friend.' He still couldn't believe that she couldn't see it. But he couldn't tell her now. It wasn't the right time. He'd have to wait.

"You feeling up to the party?" he asked.

"Bleh. No way. I just wanna sleep."

"If I had a coin for every time I heard you say that, I could buy out Booyah Base," he joked.

"Hey!" she replied, indignant. "I'm not _that_ lazy."

"Are you kidding? I've seen you sleep through entire Turf Wars! If getting splattered with ink doesn't wake you up, then I'm pretty damn sure that you are that lazy."

She started laughing. Man, he loved her laugh.

"You know, I don't think that anyone can make me feel as good as you, Jake," she said. "Thanks."

"Any time." He got up to leave.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"To the party! Where else?"

"Nuh-uh. If I'm not going, neither are you!"

Marie jumped off of her bed and started chasing him. It didn't take long; she was a lot faster than he was. When she caught up, she tackled Jake to the ground.

"Ha! Gotcha!" she cried triumphantly.

"OK, OK, I'm not going to the party," Jake sighed.

"Damn right you're not. You're staying here tonight."

"Fine. I can sleep on the couch."

"Not happening. You aren't sleeping on a lowly couch."

"Alright, you got any mattresses?"

She looked him square in the eyes. He could tell what she was thinking.

"No. I'm not sleeping with you, Marie."

"I'm not asking for you to do it with me, Jake. I just want you in the same bed."

He blushed a little. "Alright, fine. But I'm saying no to any funny business."

"And I won't ask for any," she replied, putting a hand on her heart. "…Probably."

Jake shot her a look, and they went back to Marie's room.

{asterisks}

They climbed into the bed, first Jake, then Marie, backs to each other.

Jake couldn't believe that he was actually in there. His mind was racing about a million miles an hour. As he was debating whether or not she'd splat him when he finally told her how he felt, Marie spoke up.

"Jake?"

"Yes, Marie?"

"…Are you a virgin?"

Whoa. "Where's this coming from?!"

"I don't know. It just kind of slipped out." She paused. "…Forget I said anything."

He digested that for a while. It was a long time before he responded with "…Yes."

"Yes what?"

"I'm a virgin."

Marie turned to look at him. "Seriously?"

Jake turned, too. "You're surprised?"

"No, my surprised tone of voice is a complete sham. I was totally expecting you to say that," she replied sarcastically.

"Cut the crap."

Marie sighed, and turned back over. "Yes, I'm surprised."

"What's so surprising about it? I mean, look at me! It's not like I'm the picture of physical fitness." This was true, even in Turf War. Jake didn't run out with a roller, he preferred to keep behind his teammates and snipe the opponent with his N-ZAP '89.

"Physical fitness isn't the only thing that it depends on. You were the one who pointed out how lazy I am, and I'm still getting laid."

"That's different."

"Different how?"

"Wait, you said you weren't going to ask for any funny business."

"Talking about it isn't asking for anything. Different how?"

Jake turned back over. "…You actually look good. When a girl looks at me, believe me, the first thing that comes to mind is NOT 'I want to take his clothes off right now.'" Also true. Jake was hardly ugly, especially by Inkling standards, but he wasn't particularly striking, either. He tended to blend into crowds, which was perfectly fine by him.

Silence.

"No witty retort? Something wrong, Marie?"

She mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"I know someone who thought that." 

"Thought what?"

"How much she wanted to take your clothes off when she first saw you."

"Really," said Jake, sarcastically. "Why do I find it so hard to believe you."

"I'm not lying."

"Then give me a name."

"I can't, I told them I wouldn't tell you."

"Just my point. If you, or her, for that matter, won't come out and say it, then she might as well not exist. I'm not dating material, and the only time a girl would do it with me would be if she were drunk off her ass. No one in her right mind would want me."

"Don't say things like that," Marie said quietly.

"Why not? It's true. 'Why pick him if there are so many better guys around?' I tell you, that right there is the mindset of every girl in Inkopolis right now."

"Not all of them."

"If you don't give me a name, then it might as well be."

"I thought I told you not to say things like that."

"And I didn't listen."

"Well, you really should!" Marie replied aggressively. "You need to stop beating yourself up so much."

"I'm not beating myself up. I'm stating facts. There's a difference."

"When your 'facts' aren't facts, there's no difference at all."

"But they are. So you see, there is a difference. I'm not going to find anyone anytime soon."

"Shut up."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't true. You are going to find someone."

"Mm. I want to believe you, but I just can't."

"Stop it!" Marie suddenly shouted, and turned toward him again. Jake jumped.

Marie grabbed his shoulder, and twisted him back towards her. "Do you know what I do whenever I hear someone badmouthing you, or any of my other friends? I shut them up, Jake. And believe me, it's real easy. You're a good enough person that I can shut them down real fast. But if _you_ start to believe that shit? Do you have any idea how hard it is to help someone that can't help themselves? You're just going all 'boo-hoo, I'll never find love,' when you have no idea that that girl could be right around the corner! I'm not going to just let you beat yourself up like that. You… You mean too much to me." Marie started tearing up again.

"…Really?"

Marie smiled, and brushed away her tears. "Really. And if there's a way to prove just how much you mean to me, then I promise you, I'll do it."

Jake grinned back. "Thanks, Marie. That really helps."

They shared a hug before turning back away from each other, with smiles on their faces.

{asterisks}

Jake was about to get to sleep when Marie's voice woke him up a little.

"Jake?"

No response.

Marie turned around and poked him a couple of times. "Jaaaaaaake…"

Still no response, but he yawned.

"JakeJakeJakeJakeJakeJakeJakeJakeJakeJake-"

"OK, I get it," Jake grumbled. "C'mon, I was just about to get to sleep…"

"Look at me."

Jake rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and turned toward her, mostly awake now.

"What's up?"

"I thought of a way to show you how much you mean to me."

Jake turned back over, and said "Cool, you can show me in the morning."

"It's gotta be now."

He turned over again.

"Aw, come on, Marie, I'm really tired right now. Why can't it wait until morning?"

"…You'll see."

"OK, I'll bite. Just let me go wake myself up first."

"Take all the time you need."

Jake went down to the kitchen, filled up a glass of water, and splashed it on his face. That woke him up real quick. He dried his face, and returned to Marie's room. He got back on his side of the bed, faced Marie and said "OK, I'm awake. Now what are you- MMPH!?"

He was interrupted by Marie, who attacked him with a kiss. Jake pulled away quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?"

"Showing how much you mean to me…" she whispered in his ear, low and sultry.

"I thought we agreed on no funny business!"

"I changed my mind." She started nuzzling him.

"I'm still saying no, Marie! Come on, you just had a breakup, this is wrong!" He pushed her away.

"Come on, Jake… it's gonna feel so good, why can't you just have some fun?"

"I… Marie, I get it, you're still hurting over this, and I can't do it! I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you."

He could see something in her eyes. Hurt? Probably. That's what it looked like. She was starting to cry again, and turned away.

"Marie, c'mon…" He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she moved away. He could hear her sniffling.

"Marie, c'mon…" he said again. "Say something. Please!"

"Why…" Marie said, so quiet he could hardly hear her.

"Why…?"

"Why can't you just help me?!" she cried, and turned to look at him. "Do you think I don't remember the breakup I just had? Why the hell do you think I'm pushing for this anyway?! I need… I don't know what I need. I need _something_ to help me get through this, though. Why can't you just be that?"

Jake was speechless.

"…You know what? I don't even know what I was thinking. You were right. You're not dating material. …You might as well just leave, I don't even want to look at you right now." She turned back over. "Good night."

Jake turned over, too. They both started crying silently.

{asterisks}

It was still nighttime when the tears stopped.

Jake could feel the angry cloud filling the space between them. He had never felt so far from Marie. He turned to look at her.

Marie's back was toward him. He could tell that she was still mad at him.

He reached out towards her. "Marie."

No response.

"Come on, Marie, say something. Please say something."

"…I thought I said that I didn't want to look at you."

"You don't need to look at me. You just need to hear me out."

No response, but he kept going.

"I get where you're coming from. I can't say I've ever felt the same way, but I can see where you're coming from. And I'm sorry. I know you aren't going to forgive me just like that, but I need to start somewhere. So I really am sorry that I hurt you like that."

Still no response.

"You can see what I was talking about, though, right? I mean, that felt like the biggest mistake I've ever made. But I had a reason. I don't think you were thinking straight. I know that you just wanted a quickie to get your mind off it, but it doesn't work like that, and you know it."

Still nothing.

"…That's all I had to say, I guess. But if there's anything that I can do that'll make you forgive me, please. I'm all ears."

They were silent for a long time. As Jake was about to give up and go to sleep, he heard Marie mumble something.

"What was that?"

"…Thanks."

"For what?"

"Thanks for having a real reason, I suppose. And I know it might be really stupid, but… I forgive you."

"…Really?"

She turned toward him and smiled. "Yeah. Really."

Jake pulled her into another hug, which Marie happily returned.

"OK, now is there any REAL way you can forgive me?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Er… I still don't know if we should…"

"Come ON, Jake. Live a little."

"Mmph. OK, fine! But I'm not making any guarantees on doing it again."

"Fine by me," Marie replied breathlessly, and quickly pulled him in for a kiss. "…For now."

Jake responded with more enthusiasm than he even knew he had, kissing her back as though they were stuck together.

Marie sighed into the kiss, and Jake took that moment to slip his tongue into her mouth. Marie, surprised but undeterred, started tongue-wrestling with him. They stayed like that for a few moments, until Marie grabbed his crotch. Not to be outdone, Jake started groping her chest. Both moaned.

Without breaking the kiss, Marie started slipping out of her dress. She was out of it quick enough, and discarded it on the floor. Jake pulled away, before removing his shirt. They resumed their kiss, with Marie passionately running her fingers along Jake's torso, while he continued groping at her chest.

However, he was unsatisfied with this, so Jake swiftly reached behind Marie, unhooked her bra, and threw it in the other direction, baring her breasts.

"Gettin' a bit hasty, are we?" Marie asked jokingly.

Marie's breasts were somewhat small, round, and soft. Jake's hands were instantly attracted to them, and they resumed their kiss.

As Jake was squeezing her breasts, his fingers brushed across Marie's nipple, and she drew a sharp breath.

Jake decided to tease her, removing his hands from Marie's breasts and instead rubbing them along her back as he resumed their kiss. He held her tightly enough that her breasts were pushed into his chest, and she could do nothing but grasp his back as well.

Marie soon broke the kiss, trailing her mouth down Jake's neck, planting small kisses around his shoulders, nibbling on his collarbone.

He forcefully removed Marie from him (eliciting a groan in the process) and set her on her back as he finally went to work pleasuring her breasts. As he ran his fingers across her right, he used his mouth to lick along the left one. Marie lied back, enjoying the attention.

As Jake was about to switch his hand and his mouth, his tongue brushed across Marie's nipple. She gasped in pleasure. Using this incentive to continue, he began licking it, sucking on it, giving it slight bites now and then. It was starting to become too much for Marie, who cried out and jammed Jake's face into her breast.

He eventually removed himself (though not without a small noise of displeasure from Marie) and returned his attentions to her mouth. This didn't last long, though, as Marie forced Jake onto _his_ back, kissing him passionately, and moving her hand down his pants. After garnering a moan of approval from Jake, she removed herself from his mouth, ripped off his pants, and started massaging his member.

Jake growled in response, and she positioned her face down closer to his shaft.

It was pretty big. Marie couldn't tell quite how big, but it was pretty big. She gave the tip a quick peck, before running her tongue all down the rod, licking it up and down. Jake growled a bit more. Marie took this opportunity to start slipping it into her mouth. Slowly, bit by bit, until the entire shaft was throbbing in her.

She started moving her mouth up and down, as Jake moaned in pleasure. She could feel him building up, about to release, until he plucked her head off of his member and started kissing her again.

More than a bit annoyed now, Marie kept trying to return to what she was doing, but Jake kept blocking her. Right when she was about to slap him for not letting her do her job, he stopped kissing her, and she thought he finally changed his mind.

Nope. Jake reached down and removed Marie's leggings, leaving her naked on the bed. He started trailing small kisses down her body, occasionally stopping to caress her with his tongue, until he got down in between her legs.

Seeing how anxious Marie was, he started rubbing her. She practically screamed, and grasped the sheets. As Jake continued giving her attention, she balled her hands into fists, constant moans coming out of her mouth.

And right when she thought "this couldn't get any better," he started to use his tongue.

Marie screamed, actually screamed this time, at the top of her lungs, and jammed Jake's face into her. They stayed in that position for a moment, and just when Marie was about to climax, Jake moved his head away.

"Oh God, you dick! Stop being such a tease!"

Jake said nothing, and positioned himself in front of Marie's entrance. As he was about to move in, he hesitated.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Put it in already!"

Jake got a quirky little smile on his face. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"What was me?"

"You were the girl who thought about how much you wanted to take my clothes off when you first saw me."

"For the love of God, yes, it was me! Now put it in!"

He finally obliged, quickly moving inside of her. She screamed again, and her breath started to quicken.

"Mm… ah… f-fuck… don't stop! Don't ever stop!"

Jake still said nothing, and silently thrust in and out of her, faster and faster, harder and harder. He thought he was going to explode from the pressure. Marie felt more of the same way. She had never been this pleasured in her life.

As Jake kept thrusting, the two felt themselves reaching their respective climaxes. As he thrusted into her for the last time, they swore in unison, and came at the same time.

Exhausted, Jake finally pulled out of Marie, and flopped down on the bed next to her. They grinned at one another, their chests heaving.

"Am I forgiven?" Jake asked.

"After that? Are you kidding? You could've killed someone and I'd be OK with it."

Jake grinned even wider. "Thanks a lot, Marie. …You were a good first."

"Happy to help," replied Marie, and she kissed him quickly.

"I don't know about you," Jake sighed, "but I'm tired."

"Mm… me too."

"Should we put our clothes back on, or just sleep like this?"

"Is that a trick question?"

Jake grinned, and hugged her for one last time as the two fell sound asleep.

{asterisks}

As Callie entered the home she shared with Marie, she was surprised to see the door unlocked.

Curious, she made a beeline to Marie's room to ask her about it.

As she opened the door, the first thing she noticed was that the lights were off, and Marie was sound asleep. _"I'll have to ask her in the morning._ "

It wasn't until then that she noticed the clothes scattered on the floor. Not unusual; Marie had a habit of not picking up after herself just before bed. The curious thing was that Marie's entire wardrobe was filled with dresses, yet there was a shirt and pants on the floor.

She had heard about Marie's breakup earlier that day, of course. Callie had had the impression that she would ask Marie about it at the Splatfest party, but she never showed up. But this was huge!

" _Marie isn't one to move on quickly,"_ thought Callie. _"Who'd she score with?"_

She could see a male form on the other side of the bed. Quiet as possible, Callie crept across the room to see the guy's face.

When she saw Jake, her jaw dropped. It quickly turned into a smile, and she had to leave the room quickly before she started giggling uncontrollably.

This was even bigger than she thought. She'd have to ask how it went in the morning.

 **[A/N] So, it's over. Lemme tell you something; I type these on Microsoft Word. The font I use is fairly big, but (I kid you not) I had a whole 15 PAGES of exposition before I actually got to teh sexehtymes. I feel like I looked at it and just said "NOPE. TOO SOON. THEY NEED TO TALK MORE." pretty much every time I got to another part when it could've started**

 **I feel this could probably be better, but I don't really know how to make it so, so I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **R &R and I will be back! Just gimme another year to have another idea.**


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N] SURPRISE CHAPTER 2**

 **Yeah, enough people asked about a second chapter that I decided to write one (for a one-shot that's a few months old). This story is still independent from the rest of my Splatoon stories, though.**

 **Is it any good? Hell if I know. But I'll let you guys decide.**

Marie slowly sat up and stretched, yawning. She looked at Jake's sleeping form next to her, and smiled at him before getting out of bed. She slipped a nightshirt on and stepped out, stretching again.

Callie was sitting on the couch with a book in her hands. "Good morning," she said. She didn't look up.

"Morning," Marie yawned.

"I didn't see you at the party," Callie said.

"I wasn't feeling up to it," Marie replied.

Callie nodded. "Yeah, I heard about what happened. Sorry."

"Nah, it's okay," Marie said with a wave of her hand. "Jake came over, and we talked. I felt a lot better after."

"You did a bit more than talk," Callie said, still not looking up.

Marie blushed. "How'd you know?"

"When I came in, I noticed his clothes on the floor. Then I saw him in your bed, and I put two and two together. It wasn't that hard to figure out." Callie paused. "So is this a regular thing now? Are you two gonna start going out?"

Marie was taken aback slightly. "I dunno. I didn't really think of that."

"Do you think he wants to?"

"That's a good question," Marie mused. "Should I ask him?"

Callie shrugged. "I'm not the one in a potential relationship, Marie. It's your decision."

Marie grabbed a crabby cake from the cupboard and munched on it thoughtfully. She began to weigh the pros and cons of getting into a serious relationship with Jake.

On the one hand, they already knew one another pretty well. It wasn't like a blind date or anything. They already got along pretty well, and it could only improve from there. On the other hand, if it didn't work out, she might end up losing her best friend. She grimaced at the thought.

She thought about her options for a while. She decided that it all came down to one question; did she see a future in a relationship with him?

As Marie was pondering this, Jake stumbled out of the bedroom, yawning. He had put his clothes back on, thank goodness. She didn't want Callie to get too close of a look.

He placed one arm around Marie's shoulders and playfully kissed her ear. "Morning," he said.

She giggled. "Good morning," she replied. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great," Jake said. He whispered in her ear, "The bed was nice and warm."

Marie paused for a second. "Hey, Callie?" she asked. "Can we have a minute?"

Callie wordlessly got up, closed her book, and walked to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Jake looked at Marie. "What's up?"

Marie was suddenly very conscious of the fact that she was only wearing a nightshirt. She blushed. "Did you have fun last night?"

Jake smiled warmly. "Yeah, of course," he said. "You were fantastic."

Marie nodded a couple of times. "That's good," she mumbled.

"Why do you ask?" Jake asked. "What's wrong?"

"I was… I was wondering… if… uh…" Marie stammered. Ugh, this was pathetic.

He raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Are you okay, Marie?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Jake, I was wondering if… um… m-maybe you'd like to… keep going?"

Jake looked puzzled. "What, like friends with benefits? I didn't really think you'd be the type, Marie."

"N-no, that's not what I meant," she said, blushing even deeper. "Like… do you wanna… maybe… have dinner with me tonight?"

Jake's eyebrows shot up. "Are you asking me out?"

Marie's face turned completely red. "Y-yes…" she said quietly. She suddenly became flustered. "I-I'm not trying to force you or anything! It's okay if you don't want to! Really!"

Jake came very close to laughing; Marie was starting to remind him of Annie. He grabbed her shoulders. "Marie, listen to me, okay? You don't need to be so embarrassed, especially after what happened last night."

She nodded in response. "S-sorry," she said. "I just got kind of…"

"Nervous?" Jake finished. Marie nodded again. "Do you wanna try asking again?"

"Sure," Marie said. She took a deep breath, and looked into his eyes. "Would you like to go out with me?"

Jake smiled. "Of course I would," he replied.

Marie's face split into a huge grin, and she hugged him tightly.

When she let him go, Jake scratched the back of his head. "You know, I, uh… I wasn't sure when to tell you this, but I guess now's as good a time as ever. I've got a huge crush on you. I have for a while, actually, and I was terrified that I'd never really be able to tell you and-"

Marie cut him off with a kiss. When they broke away, he grinned. "Well, okay then," he said.

They smiled at each other for a moment before a thought struck Jake. "You know what? Screw dinner. Let's go out right now."

"Right now?" Marie asked. She thought for a moment and shrugged. "Sure, why not? Just one second, I need to go get changed."

Jake nodded, and Marie retreated into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Once the door was closed, she slapped her forehead. "What the hell was that, Marie?" she whisper-shouted to herself. "He's seen you naked already, and you've asked guys out before! What the hell was that? Why am I so nervous?"

"Marie?" Jake's voice came through the door. She clapped one hand over her mouth. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all good!" she called back. "Just one second!" She quickly got changed into a dress that was about as casual as she could get. _I should get some new clothes_ , she thought. _Maybe I can buy something today_.

She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, looked in the mirror, and made a face at her reflection. She _really_ needed some more casual clothes. She made a mental note to visit Jelly Fresh when they went out. She grabbed her signature hat, and opened up the door.

Jake was sitting on the couch. He turned around when he heard the door open, and got up. "Ready?" he said.

Marie nodded.

Jake snapped his fingers. "Oh, wait, can we stop by my place first? I should probably get changed, too."

"Sure," Marie said.

The two walked out the door, switched to squid form, and Super Jumped to Jake's apartment building. "I'll be right back," Jake said, and went into the building.

Marie looked up at the building as she waited. There was something about it… she knew that there was some word to describe the place, but she couldn't remember what it was.

Jake walked out of the building, having changed into a plain black shirt and shorts, and said "Ready?" Marie suddenly remembered the word she was thinking of.

"You know," she noted. "I never realized just how _dinky_ this place was."

"Dinky?!" he repeated, indignant. "Gimme a break, Marie! Not everyone can afford a big house like you and Callie!"

Marie laughed. "C'mon, let's go!" She held out her hand. Jake took it, and they started to walk.

The two didn't have a particular destination in mind; they just wandered around the city, stopping by some of the more popular areas. Marie was asked for autographs numerous times.

Eventually, they reached the main plaza. "Hey, Jake? Can we hit Jelly Fresh?"

Jake looked at her, surprised. "Yeah, totally. What's the occasion?"

"Oh, no occasion," Marie replied. "I just felt like I needed some new clothes."

"Yep, you _always_ need some new clothes," Jake said under his breath.

Marie stuck her tongue out at him, and they walked into Jelly Fresh.

"Welcome customer!" Jelonzo burbled. He didn't see them, but he probably heard the door open. "Please to the shop-" The jellyfish looked at the two, and when he saw Marie, his eyes flew open. "BLUUH! Sister Squid is in shop! Please make with the buying! Jelonzo will be giving you articles of cloth at price that is lowered!"

Marie laughed. "Thanks, Jelonzo," she said.

Jake looked at her, surprised. "You get stuff at a discount here? Lucky."

"Yeah, I guess so," Marie said.

After a few minutes, Marie picked out the clothes she wanted. She walked up to Jelonzo's counter to pay. He tapped on his register a few times.

"Price of normalness is 20700 coin, but for Sister Squid, price get reduced to 10350 coin!" Jelonzo bubbled happily.

Marie dug through her purse and froze. "Oh, crap," she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked.

"I didn't bring enough money," Marie said. She started to look through her bags, trying to decide what to put back. Jake stopped her.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll pay the rest." He took his wallet out of his pocket.

Jelonzo's eyes instantly snapped to Jake's wallet. "Price is 20700 coin," he said.

"What?!" Jake cried. "Why do I have to pay full price? I'm buying it for her!"

Jelonzo pointed over Jake's shoulder. "When you come onto screen on all days, you may have price halved."

"What if I'm paying for part of it, Jelonzo?" Marie asked.

Jelonzo looked between the two Inklings for a moment. "Compromise we will come to," he said. "Price is 15525 coin."

Marie handed him all the money she had on her, and Jake paid for the rest, grumbling under his breath.

"Thanks for the buying!" Jelonzo said with a friendly wave.

Marie waved back, grinning, and she walked out of the shop with Jake.

"Is the shopping spree out of your system?" he asked.

"It was one shop," Marie protested. "I wouldn't call that a spree."

"Yeah, one shop where I dropped almost ten thousand coins for those clothes! You're gonna pay me back later!"

Marie traced one finger from his ear down to his chin, and pulled his face toward hers. "Well," she said innocently. "I'm sure we can think of something." She licked her lips.

Jake laughed, and planted a kiss on her cheek.

They continued their stroll around Inkopolis. They were walking by one of the more popular restaurants in the area when Jake's stomach rumbled. Loudly. Marie heard it, and raised her eyebrows at him, giggling.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"A little bit," Jake said. "C'mon, let's get something to eat."

They walked into the restaurant, where they were greeted by a tall girl with pink tentacles. "Hello there!" she said brightly. "Can I help you today?"

"Can we get a table for two?" Jake asked her.

"Certainly!" the girl replied. "Business is pretty slow today, so you can take your pick!"

"Do you have any outdoor tables available?"

"We do!"

The girl led them through a side door, where a small patio was dotted with tables and chairs. Jake and Marie chose a table, sat down, and took a look at their menus. After a moment, Marie looked up.

"Why'd you want an outdoor table?" she asked.

"So we can people-watch!" he replied. "It's loads of fun. Especially on a day like this. There's a bunch of people walking around, and you can just look out at them without looking weird because no one's really looking back at you."

"Really?" Marie asked, looking at the crowd. "I've never done that before."

"There's a first time for everything!" Jake said. "But let's get our food first."

"Hmm…" Marie hummed as she browsed the menu. "I think I'll have a hot dogfish."

"So the usual, then?" Jake joked.

"Of course!" Marie said. "Gotta have that cylinder of meat!"

Jake snickered. Marie playfully slapped his arm. "You're so immature," she said.

"I can't really help it," Jake said, looking at his menu again. "Thank God this place is cheap. A certain someone burned out my wallet." He shot Marie a pointed look, then shrugged his shoulders. "I'd probably end up paying for this one even without the shopping spree."

Marie grinned at him, before propping her head up on one hand and staring out at the crowd before them.

"I think I'll just go for a catfish burger," Jake said. "Cheap and delicious."

They put their menus down, and started watching the passing crowd. More than once, a scene stood out to them and they started laughing – for instance, there was one Inkling reading a book on a bench, and a small group of Inklings standing behind him, making ridiculous faces and trying to see if he noticed – and they were having a good time. They barely noticed when their food arrived.

The two were laughing uncontrollably. It seemed that one Inkling had a hole in his pocket; there was a steady stream of coins coming out from underneath his shorts, plinking on the ground one by one.

Marie brushed a tear of laughter from her eye, and as she looked back out at the crowd, she froze. One Inkling stood out to her, and the laughter died immediately. Jake noticed, and followed her eye.

The Inkling she saw was tall, with purple tentacles, and wearing a Varsity Jacket, 18K Aviators, and Blue Moto Boots. To anyone else, this was someone who had a lot of money to throw around. But to Marie, he was someone completely different.

It was her ex-boyfriend.

He looked up and caught her eye. He said something to the girl he was with and started to saunter over to where Jake and Marie were sitting. Marie swore under her breath. This was going to be very unpleasant.

"Oh boy," Jake muttered. It looked like he noticed him, too.

He reached them, crossed his arms, and smirked. She gulped, anxious of what was about to happen.

"Well, well," he said. "Look what we have here. How are you doing, Marie?"

Marie bowed her head. "H-hi, Tommy," she said quietly. "I'm doing fine."

He turned to Jake, and stroked his chin. "Aaaaaand… I don't know you."

"I'm Jake," he replied through gritted teeth. "And I know _exactly_ who you are. You've said hello, so you can go now."

"Oh yeah, I remember you now!" Tommy said, snapping his fingers. "You're that jealous wannabe who can't get out of C rank! How's life treating you, huh? Did you tell her yet?"

"Tell me what?" Marie asked.

Tommy's eyebrows shot up, and he snickered. He turned back to Jake. "You mean she doesn't know? Oh, what a tragedy! Guess it falls on my shoulders."

Marie shushed him, and looked at Jake. "Something you wanna say?" she asked him.

Jake grinned, winked, and said "No, nothing at all."

"Well, here's the thing, Marie…" Tommy started dramatically. "Jack here has been holding in an oh-so-deep love for you. For years, you've been the only thing on his mind, day in and day out. He's got too many secret fantasies to count, and he constantly tries to think of the perfect way to tell you… but alas, he cannot! And the most painful part about the whole thing is that you've stared him in the face, day after wretched day, and still didn't figure it out! Oh, it's been killing him from the inside…"

Jake and Marie patiently waited for him to finish, trying to hide the small smiles on their faces. At length, he stopped talking, and watched the two of them smugly. "What do you think of that?"

Jake locked eyes with Marie, and she nodded. As if on cue, they both leaned across the table, closed their eyes, and kissed one another passionately. Tommy's jaw dropped. After a good few seconds, they slowly separated, a thin trail of saliva connecting their mouths. They turned toward Tommy with wide grins on their faces.

"Yeah, he already told me," Marie said.

There was a moment of silence, before Tommy erupted into peals of laughter. He couldn't stop laughing, clutching his stomach and doubling over. Jake and Marie looked at one another. This wasn't what they were expecting.

"Oh-" Tommy started, before dissolving into laughs again. It took him a long time to calm down.

"Oh, this is hilarious!" he finally choked out. "This guy? Seriously? You're screwing this guy? _He's_ the best you could do?"

Jake was quiet as Marie spoke up. "Tell me one thing that's wrong with him, then! Give me one good, actual reason why I shouldn't be going out with him!"

"Believe me, Marie, you don't want to go down that road," Tommy replied.

"You bet your ass I do!" Marie said indignantly. "If you're gonna ridicule me for choosing someone _I_ want to go out with, you might as well give me a reason! So c'mon! Out with it! Hit me with your best shot!"

"One good reason? That's what you asked for, right?" Tommy asked. "How about the fact that he's a desperate, clingy, whiny little brat who doesn't know the first thing about- OW!"

Marie cut him off by delivering a hard slap to his cheek before sitting down again. She looked at Jake and smiled. "Man, that felt good!" she said.

Jake stared at her, not fully believing what he just saw.

Tommy recovered quickly, scowling in Marie's direction. "You bitch!" he said. He backhanded Marie with such force that she dropped out of her chair.

Her cheek felt like it was on fire. She clutched it, and tears began to run down her face.

In a flash, Jake was by her side, his face worried. Over his shoulder, she could see Tommy staring at her in contempt.

"Marie?! Marie, are you okay?!" Jake asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine," she sniffed. "Damn, that hurts…" Her cheek was already turning an ugly shade of black and blue.

Tommy scoffed, and turned to walk away.

"Hey!" Jake called. Tommy stopped and turned around, a bored look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"Listen, buddy," Jake said. "You've hurt her enough in the past two days without hitting her. That was unnecessary. You're gonna go over there and apologize right now."

"Oh, am I?" Tommy asked sarcastically. He got up in Jake's face. "And I suppose you're gonna make me?"

"You catch on quick," Jake noted. "Quicker than I thought, actually. I didn't really expect it, but I suppose someone who has more fingers on his right hand than he has brain cells can still surprise me once in a while."

Jake was fully aware that he was probably making a big mistake, but he didn't really care. Tommy flared up in anger, and threw a hard punch directly at Jake's face. He barely ducked out of the way in time. "Catch me if you can!" Jake shouted tauntingly.

A crowd started to form, watching the two intently. A chant of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" started to grow among them. Marie couldn't see what was happening through the crowd.

Jake darted around the plaza as Tommy continued trying to land punches on him. As he continued to dodge them, Tommy grew angrier.

Eventually, Tommy caught up, driving his fist directly into Jake's gut. Jake collapsed, and Tommy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and drew his fist back. "Gotcha," he said.

"Not quite," Jake said with a sickening grin. In the blink of an eye, Jake switched from squid form and back again, darted around Tommy, and pinned his wrists behind his back. Jake felt Tommy's muscles tense up, and Jake jerked him back to speak directly into his ear. "Try it and I'll rip you in half," he growled. Tommy stopped moving.

Jake led him over to where Marie was still lying on the ground, and forced him to his knees. "Now, do you have anything you wanna say to her?" Jake asked. When he stayed silent, Jake dug his knee into Tommy's back. "I said, is there _anything_ you want to _say to her_?!"

Tommy cried out in pain. "I'm sorry!" he yelped. Jake lessened the pressure.

"Should I let him go?" he asked Marie.

Too shocked to say anything, she nodded.

Jake pulled Tommy up and pushed him away. He walked off, glaring at Jake and Marie with pure hatred in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked her tenderly.

"I told you, I'm fine," she replied. "I didn't expect you to do that to him."

"Neither did I," Jake said cheerfully. "But I guess there's a first time for everything. C'mon, let's get you back to your house. You should put some ice on that bruise."

He pulled Marie up to her feet and placed one arm around her shoulders, and they began to walk back to her house. Marie drew several questioning looks on the way there.

Eventually, they arrived on the doorstep. Jake opened the door, and Marie walked inside. He followed her in.

Upon hearing the door open, Callie walked into the main room. Her eyes widened when she saw Marie's face. "Oh my God, Marie! What happened?"

"We ran into Tommy," she replied. "He got a good hit on me before Jake sent him packing. Can you get me some ice?"

Callie complied, pulling an ice pack out of the freezer, wrapping it in a washcloth, and holding it out to Marie. Marie winced as she held it against her face, but her expression softened as the pain dissipated.

"Jake, thanks," Callie said softly. "Tommy's a huge jerk. I don't wanna know what might've happened if you weren't there. So thanks for helping Marie."

"It's no problem," Jake replied. "He deserved it, after what he put her through."

"You can say that again," Marie chimed in.

"Are you gonna be okay, Marie?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just gotta wait for the pain to die down, and I'll be good as new."

"Good to know," Callie said. "I'm gonna go to bed." She disappeared into her bedroom.

"I should probably get going, too," Jake said. "I'll see you later, Marie."

He had almost reached the door when he heard Marie say "Wait."

He turned around. "What's up?"

"Can you stay with me again tonight?" Marie asked.

"Sure," Jake said with a smile. "What for?"

"I just wanna have you around. No sex this time, though."

Jake made a displeased sound. "Well, if that's how you're gonna be, I might as well go home," he joked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "C'mon, let's go to bed."

She started to get up, but Jake slipped his arms underneath her and picked her up, bridal-style. They both grinned, and Marie gave him a short kiss on the lips. Jake's grin grew wider, and he carried her into her room.

 **[A/N] Yeah, this chapter wasn't originally planned (if it were, you would've seen it a lot earlier than this), but after a few people asked about a second chapter, I started getting ideas, and once an idea takes root in my mind, it won't go away.**

 **As a matter of fact, when I set out to write this chapter, I didn't really plan for it to go the way that it did. I don't know exactly what I had in mind, but it wasn't this. I like how it turned out, though.**

 **I feel that it's important for me to say that I would _definitely like to write more of this_. I actually liked the return to Marie, rather than Tori, a lot more than I expected I would, so if I happen to have another idea (whether it's from you guys, or just my brain), then you might see more of this story. Hell, I might even end up writing side stories for it! This was really damn fun, so if I have another idea, and you guys wanna see more, then I'll return to Marie. She'll be a nice distraction while I'm writing Jake and Tori.**


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